When Duty Calls
by Ladyamesindy
Summary: Post Reaper War and Commander Shepard is in the thick of rebuilding efforts. Everything is going fine, if somewhat busy, until Admiral Hackett sends her off onto a specific assignment ... Rated M for Jack's language (just to be safe)


_**This was inspired by the indomitable femshepfit over on Tumblr. **_

_**NSFW for Jack's language.**_

* * *

It was taking every ounce of patience she had ever learned over the years to keep from making her displeasure known. Well, that and a healthy respect for the man standing before her. But mostly, it was the patience today.

_Why me?_ she wondered, teeth gnashing tightly as her jaw clenched. _Why not one of the others? They were just as much a part of what happened as I was._

"Commander?"

Shaking herself free from another wave of irritation, Shepard managed what she hoped was an appropriate, if not pleasant, enough smile. "Sir?"

"I asked if you had any questions regarding your assignment," the Admiral clarified.

Shepard shook her head. "No, sir," she assured him. "No questions."

"Good. Make it happen, Commander. I will check in with you later."

Shepard watched him depart, her jaw only relaxing once he was out of sight. Sighing, she ran her hands over her face for a moment before combing her fingers through coppery waves.

Today was going to be hell, complete with a capital H.

A buzz at her wrist had Shepard wincing a moment later. _Crap_. Make that Hell times ten. "Hey, Jack."

"Shepard, where the fuck are you?" the younger woman demanded. "You better not be backing out on me - it took _months_ to get the arena reserved for us!"

Shepard sighed again. Turning, she started walking through the halls of HQ. "Sorry, Jack. Take it up with Hackett," she replied, though she couldn't hide the slight irritation still present. "I'm 'on assignment' today."

"Assignment?!"

Shepard snorted in wry amusement. "Yeah, that's what he called it." Exiting the building, Shepard found a car waiting for her. Figured. The Admiral had it all planned out apparently.

"So … what's this 'assignment'?"

Shepard's eyes rolled. "Jack …."

"Shepard, cut the top secret crap," the younger woman spat out. "After all the shit we've been through, you owe me and -"

Shepard chuckled softly. Leave it to Jack to have the one argument Shepard couldn't counter. "Recruitment for the Alliance," she said once Jack left her a breathing space to cut in. "He's sending me down to a recruiting station. I think he figures if people see me there, it'll boost enlistment numbers or something."

"Shit! No way!"

"Unfortunately."

"Damn, that'll make for a long-ass day. What'd you do to piss him off?" It was a well known fact that Shepard preferred to do almost anything over recruitment.

"Not a clue."

This time the sound of amusement came from the other end of the connection. "Well, have fun, Shepard. Maybe Vega will fill in for you at the arena."

"Hey! I was looking forward to this!" the Commander protested as her car pulled up in front of the recruitment center. She cringed when she noticed the large image - _her_ image - in the window. Already, a line was forming out the door and down the block. "Aw, hell …."

"What?"

Shepard groaned. "It looks more like a publicity stunt than a recruitment campaign."

Jack's laughter continued. "Want me to come by and tell them what the Savior of the Galaxy is _really_ like?"

"Oh, that's _just_ what I need on top of this," Shepard muttered. Exiting the vehicle, she straightened her uniform with a tug and set her shoulders. "If you don't hear from me in a couple of hours, send in SAR."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

"Better yet, send Kaidan. Maybe he can overload their systems or something, shutting it down for the rest of the day."

"Or _maybe_ you can just get your sorry ass in there and do your duty since you're going to stand me up," Jack replied. "See you, Shepard."

The door to the facility opened as Jack signed off allowing Shepard to spot an unfamiliar officer waving her inside. Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself for battle while plastering a smile on her face and following them indoors.

~ 0 ~

Kaidan hadn't thought much of it when Shepard didn't respond to the several brief messages he'd sent earlier in the day. She was a busy woman these days, he knew that. Alliance officer, Savior of the Galaxy, she was front and center with rebuilding efforts and most days were filled with endless meetings. Hell, his own days followed a similar path, though perhaps with less intensity.

But there had been something in the cryptic message Jack sent him that suggested that today Shepard might be in need of backup. The rest of his day pretty much freed up due to a scheduling conflict at the biotic training simulators, Kaidan agreed to meet up with his fellow biotic.

What he hadn't expected was Jack's explanation of the situation. "On assignment?"

Jack flashed him a knowing grin along with a matching spark of mischief in her eyes. "That's what I said," she told him. "Anyway, per her 'request,' I decided to call in reinforcements when I didn't hear from her."

Kaidan frowned, but he fell into step beside her. "How long has it been?"

Jack shrugged. "Three, four hours?" She paused, glancing over at him. "Look, Boy Scout, you going to help me with this or not? I only called you because she mentioned you by name."

Kaidan ignored Jack's display of irritation. He was already considering the possibilities of what they might find based on her briefing so far.

"There it is, up ahead."

Kaidan looked in the direction Jack pointed, eyes widening as he noted the line was not only out the door, but down the block and around the corner. "Three or four hours?" he echoed.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Damn … shit must be about to hit the fan for her. Look at that line!"

"Only thing that would make it worse would be if -"

"Fuck!" Jack grabbed his arm and pointed further down the street to a vehicle with an all too familiar logo on the side. _Westerlund News_.

Kaidan couldn't hold back a groan. The only thing worse than recruitment duty in Shepard's book, he knew, was having to speak to reporters. And if _Westerlund News_ was here, chances were that Shepard's least favorite of the reporters was as well.

Next to him, Kaidan observed Jack pushing up the sleeves of her jacket. Reaching a hand out, he grasped her wrist just tight enough to get her attention. "Why don't we check on the situation inside first," he cautioned. "Could be that she is just fine," - Hackett wouldn't have sent her into anything dangerous yet, would he? - "and we'd be over reacting."

"Fucking Boy Scout," Jack muttered, wheeling around to face him. "You wanna go do your secret sneaky ninja shit, be my guest -"

Kaidan couldn't help it, he laughed aloud. "Ninja?"

The faintest haze of blue began creeping around Jack's slender frame. "Point is, asshole," she growled, "if you want to be super sneaky and all, fine. Be my guest. I prefer making _my_ intentions known up front!"

Jack had taken two steps with Kaidan moving quickly to follow after when they both noticed the line of people surging forward, swarming around the entrance. The cacophony of voices that followed did nothing to ease their minds.

"Stay with me," Kaidan told Jack as the veil of command descended over him, "but no biotics unless I say so. Got that?"

Jack snarled, irritation in her expression, but she nodded. "Yeah."

It took some maneuvering, and he was certain his Alliance uniform helped, but it was still several minutes before he and Jack were able to make their way inside the office. Once there, they found things surprisingly calm … except for in the center of the room.

"But, Commander, you are a public figure! It's my _job_ to report on your -"

Shepard stood in the center of the room, arms folded. The space was visibly cleared of desks and chairs, leaving enough room for Shepard and the five or six others standing around her. "No," she replied. Flat and brooking no argument, Kaidan recognized it all too clearly from the time they'd served together. Commander Shepard was definitely present and meant business.

"What the fuck?!"

Kaidan shook his head, warning Jack off for the moment.

"But, Shepard!"

Shepard shifted her hips, arms still crossed, eyes narrowed. "Only way you're going to get _any_ story out of this, Khalisa, is if you join us … or enlist yourself." The room echoed with a combination of snorts and snickers.

It only took a moment for Kaidan to recognize what must have happened. In the background could be heard the faintest strains of music, obviously lowered when the confrontation began so that voices could be heard. The other individuals surrounding Shepard were of varying ages, had sleeves pushed up, flushed cheeks and were trying to catch their breaths. Shepard's cheeks, too, appeared slightly more tinted than usual. Khalisa Bint Sinan al-Jilani stood nearby with one of her camera-bots, her face a mask of frustration.

"Well? How badly do you want this story?"

Attention focused back onto Shepard, Kaidan was not surprised when her eyes met his briefly, acknowledging his presence before returning to the reporter.

"You are a damned mercenary, Shepard!"

The left corner of Shepard's lips curved upwards into a smirk as Khalisa set aside her equipment. "All's fair, Khalisa," she reminded the woman.

The music suddenly blared back to life and those standing around the room observing began to cheer. Shepard, Kaidan noticed, turned towards the recruits out on the floor with her, waving Khalisa over to join them before she began moving to the beat of the music herself.

"What the hell?"

Kaidan's laughter finally got the better of him. Shepard glanced over, grinning, and then waving him into the group surrounding her as well. "Interesting recruiting strategy, Commander," he greeted her a moment later.

Shepard's grin widened. "I thought so," she replied. "If they can find a boost in confidence going in …."

"And you can determine their level of coordination and agility?" he guessed.

Shepard chuckled. He knew her too well.

A movement off to Kaidan's left had Jack joining them, though she gravitated towards a couple of the younger people. "So … did you manage to recruit her, do you think?" Kaidan asked while nodding his head in Khalisa's direction.

Shepard snorted in laughter. "If I did, I feel very sorry for her DI in basic!" she retorted. Nodding towards Jack, she countered, "Why are you two here?"

Kaidan cleared his throat before replying. "I was informed that reinforcements might be necessary on this operation," he explained. "I should have known better. Is there anything you can't do?"

Shepard flashed him a quick smile. "Stick around, Major, and we shall see. The day is still young, after all …."


End file.
